'Lost' Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece may be hidden in 'secret compartment' in Florence palazzo - as hi-tech drill reveals traces of paints used in Mona Lisa

A hidden message in a painting has led to the first evidence of a 'lost' Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece that has lain hidden for 400 years in a secret compartment behind another mural in Florence, scientists announced today.

An 'endoscopic' probe was inserted into the interior of the wall in the Palazzo Vechio, and obtained chemical samples of a dark pigment which Da Vinci also used in the Mona Lisa.

The painting is thought to be one of Da Vinci's most significant works - but was long assumed to have been
destroyed by fire in the 16th century. Now researchers believe that it may have been preserved by a hidden wall built by another painter.

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Scientists used a hi-tech 'endoscope' probe to drill into what is thought to be a secret compartment housing a Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece on a hidden wall of Palazzo Vecchio that has not been seen in over four centuries

A banner showing the painting which might be hidden behind the Vasari wall

Scientists believe they have found traces of a Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece on a hidden wall of Palazzo Vecchio that has not been seen in over four centuries

Maurizio Seracini (foreground) and his team viewing footage captured by the endoscope behind the Vasari wall at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence

A sampling tool about to be placed into the Vasari wall in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio to extract material for analysis

Archaeologists began to investigate behind the mural in the Palazzo Vechio
after an archaeologist found the words, 'cerca
trova' - 'seek and you shall find' - hidden in the mural thought to have replaced Da Vinci's work, by painter Giorgio Vasari.

The probe was fitted with a camera and allowed a team of researchers, led by scientist Maurizio Seracini, to see what was behind the Vasari and gather samples for further testing.

They found a black material similar to pigments used in the Mona Lisa, as well as beige material which seems to have been applied with a brush.

The endoscope also found an 'air gap', which hints that Vasari may have preserved Da Vinci's masterpiece by building a wall in front of it before painting his own mural.

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‘These data are very encouraging,’ said National Geographic Fellow Maurizio Seracini. ‘Although we are still in the preliminary stages of the research and there is still a lot of work to be done to solve this mystery, the evidence does suggest that we are searching in the right place.’

Many preparatory studies for the painting, the Battle of Anghiari, exist, allowing art historians to show off what their discovery will look like if it is indeed concealed in the Palazzo Vechio.

But some art historians are sceptical, saying the fresco of Battle of Anghiari was most likely destroyed before Vassari painted his new fresco.

Some art historians working on the project withdrew their support and Italia Nostra, Italy's leading nature and arts conservation group, asked Florentine authorities to halt it because they said it risked harming the Vassari fresco and because they believed it was unlikely that the original Leonardo was there.

The Palazzio Vecchio - scientists believe they have found traces of a Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece on a hidden wall of Palazzo Vecchio that has not been seen in over four centuries

The Mona Lisa in the Louvre - scientists found traces of a black pigment Da Vinci also used in the Mona Lisa, lending weight to the theory that the painting is still hidden inside the wall

Seracini, an engineer by training and
now one of the world’s leading experts in the field of art diagnostics,
began searching for the mural more than 30 years ago.

In
the 1970s, he noticed the words ‘cerca trova’ - ‘seek and you shall
find’ - painted in Vasari’s fresco and believed it was a clue to the
mystery of the lost Leonardo. Since then, Seracini has conducted laser,
thermal and radar scans of the Hall to determine that the likely
location of the Leonardo painting is on the selected panel.

‘Given that the points of actual entry were on the periphery of our original area of focus, the results we obtained are particularly encouraging,’ said Seracini.

In 1503, da Vinci was commissioned by Gonfaloniere Piero Soderini to paint the ‘The Battle of Anghiari’ in the Hall of the 500 of the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of government in Florence.

The painting commemorated the 1440 victory of the battle on the plain of Anghiari between Milan and the Italian League led by the Republic of Florence.

The Florentines emerged from the conflict as the most important power in central Italy, re-establishing Papal powers and dominating Italian politics for years to come.

Da Vinci used the commission as an opportunity to experiment with new mural techniques, which did not meet with the results he had hoped for, but nonetheless, this masterpiece was later called ‘the school of the world.’

In the mid-16th century Giorgio Vasari, himself an admirer of da Vinci’s work, enlarged and completely remodeled the Hall and painted six new murals over the east and west walls, possibly hiding the Leonardo masterpiece. Original documents confirm eyewitness accounts of viewing ‘The Fight for the Standard,’ the portion of ‘The Battle of Anghiari’ that was completed by Leonardo.